Carriage-top.



No. 735,270. PATENTED AUG.`4, 1903.

I W. H. KELLY.

CARRIAGE TOP.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. s, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

...INI

` UNITED STATES j atented August 4,1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. KELLY, on BEowNsBURG, VIRGINIA.

SPECIFICATIONHforming pari-.of Letters Patent No. 735,270, dated August4, 1903.

pplication iiled November 8, 19024.` Serial No. 130,572. (No model.) l

To all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. KELLY, a citizen of the United States,lresiding at Brownsburg, inthe county of Rockbridge and State ofVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCarriage-Tops;4

l and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled intheart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates tocarriage-tops, par, l ticularly those ofbuggies, phaetons, and similar vehicles; and it consists, substantially,in

the features of improvement hereinafter fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the annexed claims.

It has been proposed heretofore toprovide` buggy and other vehicletopswith rolling cur tains either of the 'spring-actuated" or other` type;but generally such Aattachments have" been found unsatisfactory orobjectionable, because the curtain-rollers and their brackets ormountings have been more or less conspicuous and ungraceful inappearance and not properly concealed, the curtain-rollers have tion isto provide a rigid buggy-top'or otherl carriage-top adapted to supportrolling curtains both at the sides and back without any of theobjectionable features abcve noted, the'v curtain-rollers being securelymounted and.

neatly concealed within the top, the curtains conveniently manipulated,and the top being non-foldable, but capable of being swung back withoutinterference by the said curtainrollers or displacement of the latterwhether the curtains bewound up or drawn down.

4This and other objects are accomplished.

meanssubstantially as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whichform a part of this specification, and wherein- Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a buggy-top embodying my invention, a part of the topcoverbeing broken away and the side curtains being partly drawn down. Fig. 2is a vertical cross-section of the same, taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l,looking toward the back as `indicated by the arrows; and Fig. 3 is anenlarged fragmentary view of "one of therear corners of the buggy-toplookingtfroni the back. l

The letter A designates the buggy-seat; B,"

the seat-back C, the covering of the top, and D the usual Vertical sidestrips depending from the rear end of thetop. i

The buggy-top 'is supported by suitable 'posts or standards, here shownaslthreeat I{each side, E, F, and G, the middle standards F beingvertical and the outer ones inclined upward. in opposite directions inthe usual way. The upperends of the standards are Jrigidly secured tothe top-frame, as herein# after explained, while their lowerconvergingends are'joined together and pivoted to suitable brackets H at the sidesof the buggy-seat.

The letter, J denotes diagonal jointed arms or braces, the upper frontends of which are pivotally secured, preferably, to the front standardsE, though they may be secured to the other standards, while the lowerrear ends of said arms or braces are pivotally joined to studs orbrackets K on the sides of the buggyseat. In the Yposition shown in Fig.l the 'jointed arms J hold the buggy-top up rmly;

but said arms can easily be bent or doubled in the usual way by pressingdown or forward on either of their members, thus allowing the buggy-topto be thrown back. Studs or brackets L are secured to the back part ofthe seat to support theI rear standards G when the top is thrownback,said studs being located considerably lower than in the ordinarybuggy lor vehicle, sothat the top can swing back down far enough to dropits front end'below the heads of the occupants of the vehlcle or belowthe top of the seat-back, such arrangement thus serving the same purposeas the ordinary foldable buggy-top. y T c The top-frame, over which thecover C 1s tted, comprises a front bow M and a rear bow N, which arerigidly secured to the front and rear ends, respectively, of upper sidestrips R and lower side strips S, and also a ICO number of intermediatebows, here shown" three in number and designated as O, P, and Q, thelower ends of which are rigidly secured to the upper side strips R. Theupper ends of the standards E, F, and G are rigidly secured to the lowerside strips S. The bows are shown attached to the inner sides of theupper strips R', while the front and end bows are attached to the outersides of the lowerl strips S, which latter are thus located slightlyinward with respect to the upper strips.

The buggy-top is shown provided with side curtains T and a back curtainU, which are preferably, though not necessarily, wound onspring-rollers. The side curtains, as shown,

hav'e their front edges Aupwardly forwardly inclined, corresponding tothe general shape of a buggy-top, and when drawn these vcurtains coverthe entire sides of the upper body of the vehicle. They may be providedwith eyes or sockets t for fastening to studs or buttons t' on thevertical standards F and also with eyes or sockets t2 for fastening tostuds or buttons t3 on the rear leather` side strips D. The back curtaincovers the entire back of the buggy-top and may be provided withsuitable eyes or sockets u for fastening to studs or buttons u on thestrips D. Both curtains may be drawn or adjusted to any desiredposition, which is a great advantage over the curtains ofthecarriage-tops of ordinary construction, which must be wholly up or down.

The rollers 'V of the side curtains are arranged closely within theinner sides of the top, their ends or spindles being mounted in suitablebrackets c and c', formed or attached on the bent end portions of thefront bow M and rear bow N. The curtains roll from the outer sides ofthe rollers and hang down between the strips R and S, and when drawnthey cover the standards which support the top and the diagonal braces.

The roller W of the back curtain is arranged lengthwise beneath andbetween the rear bow N and another bow X, extending under and having itsends secured to or within the ends of the bow N, the ends or spindles ofsaid roller being mountedv in suitable brackets w, secured between saidbows. It will be observed that the roller W is thus mountedsubstantially between the rear ends of rollers V, and hence the side andrear curtains do not interfere at the corners.

The curtain rolls from the outer or rear side of the roller and passesdown over the rear side of bow X and under the rear valance orhorizontal strip Y of the cover C.

l An inner lining Z may be secured under the cover and top frame, thesame being suitably attached to the front and rear bows of displacementof the rollers or disorder in the working thereof, while the wholebuggytop can be swung back when desired, either with the curtains up ordown, without interference by the side-curtain rollers.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesirevto secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a carriage-top, a rigid top-frame comprisingafrontbow, a rear bow,a pair of strips at each side arranged one above another and havingtheir ends secured directly to said bows, intermediate bows having theirends secured to the upper side strips, and suitable supporting-standardshaving their upper ends secured to the lower side strips, substantiallyas described.

2. In a carriage-top, the combination of a rigid 'top-frame comprisingfront and rear bows with side strips secured to and connecting the same,a cover fitted on said frame, side curtain rollers supported by andbetween said bows, and a back-curtain roller mounted directly beneathand within the rear bow.4

3. In a earriage-top, the combination ofa rigid top-frame comprisingfront and rear bows, upper and lower side strips having their endssecured directly thereto, and intermediate bows having their endssecured to the upper strips, supporting-standards having their upperends secured to the lower strips, a top-cover fitted over the frame, andside curtains having their rollers mounted between the end portions ofthe front and rear bows in brackets on the latter, said curtains hangingbetween the upper and lower side strips.

4. In a carriage-top, the combination of a rigid top-frame comprisingfront and rear bows, upper andlower side strips having their endssecured thereto, and intermediate bows having their ends secured 'to theupper strips, supporting-standards having their upper ends secured tothe lower strips, a top-cover tted over the frame, and side curtainshaving their rollers mounted between the end portions of the front andrear bows in brackets on the latter, said curtains hanging between theupper and lower side strips, and a back curtain having its rollermounted directly beneath and within the rear bow.

5. In a carriage-top, the combination of a top-frame having front andrear bows, a topcover thereon, a supplemental rear bow secured withinthe other, and a roller for a back curtain mounted between said rearbows in brackets secured to the latter.

6. In a carriage-top, the combination of front and rear bows, upper andlower side strips secured to and connecting the same, intermediate bowshaving their ends secured to the upper side strips, supporting-standardshaving their upper ends secured to the lower strips, a top-covering,side curtains having their rollers mounted between the end portionsofthe front and rear bows, said curtains hanging between the upper andlower side IOO IIO

8. A swinging carriage-top having a rigid or non-foldable top-frame,comprisingfront I5 and rear bows and strips connecting the latter, andside curtains having their rollers mounted between said bows in bracketson the latter.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature zo in presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM H. KELLY.

Witnesses A. P. WADE, GEO. F. KELLEY.

